Linnea Ström (born 14 October 1996) is a Swedish professional golfer. She joined the U.S.-based LPGA Tour after graduating from the Symetra Tour as 2018 Rookie of the Year. She was solo second at the 2022 Madrid Ladies Open and 2023 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship before winning the 2024 ShopRite LPGA Classic.[1]

Linnea Ström
Personal information
Born (1996-10-14) 14 October 1996 (age 28)
Göteborg, Sweden
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Sporting nationality Sweden
ResidenceScottsdale, Arizona
Career
CollegeArizona State University
Turned professional2018
Current tour(s)LPGA Tour (joined 2019)
Ladies European Tour (joined 2019)
Former tour(s)Epson Tour (joined 2018)
Professional wins3
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour1
Epson Tour2
Best results in LPGA major championships
Chevron ChampionshipT26: 2019
Women's PGA C'shipT57: 2023
U.S. Women's OpenT13: 2020
Women's British OpenT22: 2024
Evian ChampionshipT42: 2023
Achievements and awards
Symetra Tour Rookie of the Year2018
Epson Tour Player of the Year2022
Medal record
Youth Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Nanjing Mixed team

Amateur career

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Ström enjoyed a highly successful amateur career. She became a member of the Swedish National Team at age 13 and was part of the Swedish team winning the European Girls' Team Championship in 2012 and again in 2013.[2] She was a member of the 2013 Junior Solheim Cup team and the European Junior Ryder Cup teams in 2012 and 2014.

Ström, paired with Marcus Kinhult, won gold in the mixed category at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. At the 2014 Espirito Santo Trophy in Japan, Ström's Swedish team with Louise Ridderström and Madelene Sagström finished tied fifth alongside the United States. She won the 2014 Spanish Ladies Amateur, beating Annabel Dimmock 2&1. In 2015, she was runner-up at the Spanish Ladies Amateur and at the British Ladies Amateur, where she lost the final to Céline Boutier 3&2.[3] She qualified for the 2015 Women's British Open, her first major championship, where she did not made the cut.

Ström played college golf for the Arizona State Sun Devils at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona, where she was the 2016 Pac-12 Conference Individual champion and Collegiate First Team All American 2016 and 2017. She led the Sun Devils to the program's eighth NCAA Division I National Championship in 2017.[1]

Professional career

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Ranked ninth in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking, Ström quit ASU after 2.5 years in March 2018 to turn professional and play on the Symetra Tour, after a bout of food poisoning during the final stage of the LPGA Q-School saw her miss out on earning her LPGA card.[4] She won her first professional tournament in September 2018, the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge, and won the 2018 Symetra Tour Rookie of the Year award. By finishing fifth on the 2018 Symetra Tour money list she earned membership of the LPGA Tour in October 2018.[5]

On the 2019 LPGA Tour she made 11 cuts in 22 events and ended her rookie season 84th on the money list to retain her tour card. Her best finish was T5 at the Marathon Classic and she ranked 11th in average driving distance (271.52 yards), finishing sixth in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings. She earned starts at four majors and finished T26 at the 2019 ANA Inspiration.[1]

Ström started 2020 with a T4 at the ISPS Handa Vic Open, one stroke away from the playoff won by Park Hee-young, and finished third in the Australian Ladies Classic, a Ladies European Tour event.[6] In August she finished T9 at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship and finished the season 41st on the LPGA money list.[7]

In August 2021, Ström captained a team with Jenny Haglund and Agathe Sauzon that took a single-shot lead into the final day of the Aramco Team Series – Sotogrande. On the 54th-hole Stacy Lee Bregman holed a critical birdie that took her team to a playoff with Ström, and team captain Ashleigh Buhai won the title on the first extra hole.[8]

In 2022, Ström divided her time between the Ladies European Tour and the Epson Tour. On the LET, she finished solo 3rd at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open after going into the final day with a two stroke lead.[9] She was solo 2nd at the Madrid Ladies Open behind Ana Peláez.[10] On the Epson Tour, she won the IOA Championship and was runner-up at the Twin Bridges Championship. She was the leading money winner to become Epson Tour Player of the Year and re-gain her fully exempt status on the LPGA Tour for the 2023 season.[11]

In 2023, Ström was in contention at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii. Sharing the lead during the last round, a double bogey on the 14th saw her finish −11, one stroke away from a three-way playoff won by Grace Kim.[12] She closed with a 64 to finish solo second at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, three strokes behind Ryu Hae-ran.[13]

At the 2024 ShopRite LPGA Classic, Ström shot a final round 60, second only to Annika Sörenstam's 59 at the 2001 Standard Register PING, to surge from seven strokes behind, tied for last (T-52), to seize the title. Ström's probability to win at the start of the final round was 0.001%, according to KPMG Insights.[14]

Amateur wins

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Professional wins (3)

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LPGA Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 9 Jun 2024 ShopRite LPGA Classic 69-70-60=199 −14 1 stroke   Ayaka Furue
  Megan Khang

Epson Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 2 Sep 2018 Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge 65-71-66-67=269 −11 1 stroke   Charlotte Thomas
2 27 Mar 2022 IOA Championship 71-67-67=205 −11 3 strokes   Milagros Chaves
  Sophie Hausmann
  Sarah Jane Smith

Playoff record

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Ladies European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2021 Aramco Team Series – Sotogrande (Team)   Ashleigh Buhai Buhai won with par on first extra hole

Results in LPGA majors

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Results not in chronological order.

Tournament 2015 2016 2017 2019 2017 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Chevron Championship T26 T32 T57 T56 CUT
U.S. Women's Open T13 CUT
Women's PGA Championship CUT T65 CUT T57 CUT
The Evian Championship CUT NT T42 CUT
Women's British Open CUT T64 CUT CUT T22
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Team appearances

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Amateur

Source:[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Linnea Ström Player Profile". LPGA Tour. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  2. ^ "European Girls' Team Championship – European Golf Association". 19 October 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Linnea Ström Bio". Symetra Tour. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Arizona State junior Linnea Strom turns pro". Golfweek. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Linnea Ström on earning LPGA Tour card for 2019". Symetra Tour. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Linnea Ström". Golfdata. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  7. ^ "2020 Race to CME Globe". LPGA Tour. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Team Buhai wins Aramco Team Series — Sotogrande play-off". Arab News. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Ström Still In Front With One Round Remaining In Kenya". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  10. ^ "Ana Peláez: A Star Is Born In Madrid". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Meet the 2022 Epson Tour Graduates". Epson Tour. 9 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Australian Grace Kim wins LOTTE Championship in playoff". News4. 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Rookie Hae Ran Ryu of South Korea wins in Arkansas for her first LPGA Tour title". Associated Press News. 1 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  14. ^ Paisley, Kent (9 June 2024). "Sweden's Linnea Strom shoots 60 in historic comeback victory at ShopRite LPGA Classic". Golf Digest. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  15. ^ "European Team Championships". European Golf Association. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
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